Stretching Meals: Canning 100 Pounds of Tomatoes

While arctic air blasting through this week and fresh spring and summer flavors still out of reach, I thankful for the hard work put in last September to can fresh tomatoes.

September is an amazing time of year. The sunlight is beautiful, the air is crisp and clean. And, summer’s bounty is waning. To keep the flavors of summer going all year long, the Stretching Meals Cookbook team embarks on a tomato canning project every September. This year, we canned 100 pounds of Roma tomatoes.

As recommended by Acorn Canning in Marshfield, Mass., we asked several local farmers for “Seconds” or “Number 2 Tomatoes,” the tomatoes farms and stores can’t or won’t sell at retail because they are blemished. We lucked out and bought two bushels of seconds at Wilson’s Farm in Lexington, Mass., equaling 100 pounds. We didn’t have to cut away too many bruises or rotten spots and yielded a huge amount of tomatoes to blanche, crush in the food processor and later process in a hot water bath. The entire project took 12 hours and produced 20 4 cup jars of tomatoes.

Crazy! But, fun! And, we salvaged tomatoes headed for (we hope) a compost heap. Get inspired! Think about what you love to eat and want to preserve for winter recipes.